The conference topic was chosen in the wake of Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street and anticipating dialogue regarding interrelationships among women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and social change. Interest in the topic has been fueled anew by activism around the May 2012 passage of Amendment One to North Carolina’s Constitution (banning same-sex marriages and civil unions); the June 2012 silencing of two Michigan Congresswomen, one for using the word “vagina” in floor debates about an abortion bill; and the news that in Ciudad Juárez more women have been killed in 2012 than in any other year of the “femicide era”. We understand the ideas of outrage, protest, and social transformation quite broadly and encourage you to as well.

We hope you will look carefully at our general call for papers and submission requirements, as well as the caucus CFPs and invite you to submit a proposal. Caucus submissions are due by November 16th and general submissions will be accepted through November 30th, 2012. We are especially excited about our keynotes, whose perspectives will help us think —and act— across the arts, academic scholarship, and activism.